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Synopsis
In today's world, it's incumbents against insurgents, the old guard versus the vanguard. Companies must reinvent themselves and their industries—not just in times of crisis, but continually.
Drawing on the experiences of Charles Schwab, Cisco, Virgin Atlantic, Disney, and other world-class companies, Gary Hamel explains the underlying principles of radical innovation, explores where revolutionary new business concepts come from, and identifies the key design criteria for building companies that are activist-friendly. He shows how to avoid becoming a "one-vision wonder" and instead harness the imagination of every employee, develop new financial measures that focus on creating new wealth, and generate vibrant internal markets for ideas, capital, and talent.
Publishers Weekly
Hamel's first edition of this volume, published in 2000, urged managers help lead a business revolution by embracing change-developing e-commerce, participating in joint ventures and engaging in selective cooperation. Centuries of incremental progress have given way to a time of revolution, Hamel argued, and companies must change or die. His revised version keeps the focus on far-reaching innovation-imagine the kind of future you want for your company, Hamel urges, and then go out and create it-but he makes sure to dismiss the "helium" of the dot-com bubble and focus on meaningful business change. He highlights Cemex, the third largest cement company in the world, as proof that "new attitudes and new values can change an old industry"; UPS, too, gets the nod as another "gray-haired revolutionary." (Unsurprisingly, Hamel's positive Enron profile from the earlier edition gets the axe.) Hamel's presentation is powerful and his core argument that corporate leaders must be more entrepreneurial remains convincing; the worst that can be said about this volume is that, by rehashing his earlier writings, Hamel may not be fully following his own advice. (Dec.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.